


An AFTG Karaoke Fic

by anonknown



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Karaoke, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:48:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28820982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonknown/pseuds/anonknown
Summary: It’s just after Christmas now, and the foxes have settled into a delicately balanced rhythm with one another. While it’s true that not everything is perfect, and they still quarrel like the unnecessarily petty children they are, the remaining nine have found ways to almost pleasantly coexist with one another. The relaxed nature brought about by the holiday season has overwhelmed them all, and predictably, Dan and Matt saw this as the perfect opportunity to take another shot at team bonding. After their Monday practice earlier in the week, Dan had tentatively brought up the idea of hosting a karaoke night in the girl’s room that Saturday evening. With a bit of effort from her and the other upperclassmen, both through bribery and ridiculous logic, the monsters were convinced to join them. Now that the night had come, nearly all of them regretted their decision.
Relationships: Allison Reynolds/Renee Walker (All For The Game), Matt Boyd/Danielle "Dan" Wilds, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 2
Kudos: 74





	An AFTG Karaoke Fic

**Author's Note:**

> This is being reposted to AO3 from my tumblr: https://anonknown.tumblr.com/

It’s just after Christmas now, and the foxes have settled into a delicately balanced rhythm with one another. While it’s true that not everything is perfect, and they still quarrel like the unnecessarily petty children they are, the remaining nine have found ways to almost pleasantly coexist with one another. The relaxed nature brought about by the holiday season has overwhelmed them all, and predictably, Dan and Matt saw this as the perfect opportunity to take another shot at team bonding. After their Monday practice earlier in the week, Dan had tentatively brought up the idea of hosting a karaoke night in the girl’s room that Saturday evening. With a bit of effort from her and the other upperclassmen, both through bribery and ridiculous logic, the monsters were convinced to join them. Now that the night had come, nearly all of them regretted their decision. 

Led by an overly enthusiastic Nicky, Andrew, Neil, Kevin and Aaron made their way down the hall to the door of the girls dorm room. While their leader was showing great enthusiasm, babbling along about the importance of showmanship and selecting the right song, everyone else (other than Neil, who no one cared to explain karaoke to and didn’t usually listen to what Nicky had to say if it didn’t have anything to do with Andrew or Exy) were busy trying to devise individual plans to guarantee that they wouldn’t be forced to sing. All too soon, the party of five had reached the room, where they found the upperclassmen setting up a karaoke machine found in the deep recesses of one of their game closets. 

The first to look up and acknowledge them as they filed into the room (that was quickly beginning to feel a bit cramped) was Dan. She made her way over to them, pushing tangled wires out of the way with her feet. “Hey guys! Sorry it’s such a shit show in here right now, we should be ready to get started in like...” she glanced around the room, looking for Matt. He held up a hand with two fingers up from the corner of the room, where he was fiddling around with a computer. “...two minutes. Just sit wherever you like.” With that, she turned away, starting to unpack a few bags, full of food and liquor. Andrew moved first, maneuvering around everyone and the equipment to take a seat on the outside edge of the girl’s couch. The rest followed, Neil taking a place beside him and Kevin on the other side of the couch. Nicky and Aaron disappeared around a corner, where Allison handed them two fold out chairs to place beside the couch. Once situated, they all pulled out their phones in an attempt to either distract themselves or seem distracted. 

As promised, Matt stood up from the corner of the room and made his way to one of the armchairs. “Alright, the machine is set up best I can tell.” He grinned, giving Dan a thumbs up. At that, Renee took a seat in the unoccupied armchair with Allison in front of her, brandishing two hair ties, which Renee took, pulling them onto her wrist. She then proceeded to begin to braid one side of Allison’s hair as Dan stood next to the machine, ready to explain karaoke to Neil and offer the position of first singer. 

“All right everybody, off the phones. It has been brought to our attention that Neil is a karaoke virgin, so I’m going to explain the concept and then we’ll get this thing started.” Andrew rolled his eyes, unimpressed by how big of a deal the upperclassmen were making all this. He looked to Neil as he felt the couch shift at the redhead’s movement backwards, settling into Andrews, side with the blonde man’s arm slung around the front of his body, an attempt to get more comfortable. “It’s pretty straightforward.” Dan continued. “When it’s your turn, you’re just going to come up here, pick the song you want to sing off the computer and perform it for us.” Neil gave her a blank look, which amused Andrew into using the thumb on his occupied arm to gently rub against Neil’s rib cage, tracing the scars under the grey T-Shirt he was wearing. “I get it’s no Exy, but it gets a bit competitive, so you better bring your best game. We expect to be impressed.” Dan added with a cheesy wink. “Alright! Now that that’s out of the way, do we have a volunteer for the first singer of the night?” Quickly and predictably, Nicky stood up. “I’ve got this one. I’ve been preparing.” He said, flashing the group a mischievous smile. Dan grinned. “Sounds good. Let’s set the bar high.” She took the microphone off the table, where it had been resting next to the computer and handed it over to him. He took it, moving behind the computer, where he began to type. The rest watched on in anticipation. After a second, it appeared that he had found his song, as he clicked the keyboard and walked out in front of the computer and makeshift screen that had been set up to display the lyrics. Allison discreetly took out her phone, ready to record whatever was about to happen. 

Out of the cheap speakers they were using, the first few notes began to play. Immediately recognizable, Nicky didn’t even need to screen to know the lyrics. He began to sing the opening lines of Britney Spears’ Toxic with a voice that could make even a deaf person’s ears bleed. The laughter that erupted throughout the room (even Andrew let out a small chuckle at the horror show that was before him) didn’t seem to phase Nicky as he went into a poorly choreographed dance to the chorus. Neil looked over at Allison, who was making it difficult for Renee to braid her hair by full body laughing and attempting to roll on the floor as she filmed Nicky’s routine. He couldn’t imagine or understand how Nicky found embarrassing himself like that fun. He decided he would ask him after. By now, Nicky was dancing around the couches, dramatically draping himself over his teammates as he finished the song’s final lines, nearly entirely out of breath. Once he was finished, the Foxes clapped and cheered, wiping the tears out of their eyes as Nicky took a bow. Pulling out white boards and white board markers, Dan handed them out to everyone. “Alright guys, write your score for him out of ten.” With no time to think needed, the judges held up their scores. Dan showed a 6 and “for showmanship” written in parentheses alongside it, Kevin with a 3.5, Andrew with a 0, Matt with a 5, Aaron with a -1, Allison with a 3, Renee with a 5.5 and Neil with a 2. “You wound me!” Nicky exclaimed, a hand to his heart, trying to conceal his laughter.

“It baffles me that you can get up there and do that nearly sober.” Neil commented honestly. The rest of the team doubled over once more, clutching their stomachs. “It’s because I know I am talented,” Nicky said theatrically. “You’re all lucky to have seen that for free.” Andrew scoffed, grabbing a drink from the table. “You were fucking horrible. I want to gauge my eyes out and fill my ears with cement. You’re sending me to an early death.” Nicky put one finger in the air as he went to sit back down in his chair, microphone back on the table. “Who wants to try and follow that?” He challenged. 

Allison rolled her eyes as Renee secured the first braid in her hair. “Psh...like it’s hard.” She stood up from the floor and strutted to the computer with the confidence of a karaoke veteran. The others thought it was likely she was. After a minute of deliberation, she made her selection and moved to the front of the room, smirking. When the music began, she started a clearly practiced and done to death rendition of Material Girl by Madonna. Her song choice got great reviews, but at the end, the judges felt that she was lacking spontaneity, making it a slightly less entertaining performance than Nicky. “We should have considered the fact that the entertainment factor in a performance would be affected by how drunk the performer is.” Matt nodded along, listening to Dan as she verbally deliberated her own score. “She did choose to go this early though.” Matt added, looking over her shoulder as she began to write a number. “Damn Dan, it’s not that complicated. Just put a score down. The suspense is killing me!” Allison said, taking a sip of her drink. “Okay, okay I’ve got it.” Dan raised another six. 

“WHAT!” Allison screamed. “I was way better than Nicky!” Dan shrugged, unfazed. “True, but I am a sucker for a good performance.” Allison shook her head, making her way over to Renee so the other girl could finish braiding her hair. Also holding up 6′s were Matt, Aaron, and Neil. Andrew held up another 0, and Kevin and Aaron had 5′s. Renee has been a bit more generous than the others with her 6.5. 

The night continued on, most of the foxes becoming progressively more intoxicated as they sang. Matt had followed Allison, singing Work Out and scoring mostly 6.5′s because of his surprisingly good dancing and ability to stay in tune. But his glory was short-lived, as Renee went up after him, singing a perfect rendition of Kehlani’s Honey. While she may not have won any points in showmanship, her gorgeous singing voice and ability to evoke emotion in her audience earned her an 8.5 average and Andrew’s first non-zero score (a 10). No one else wanted to follow her alone, so Matt and Dan went up, performing a fairly well put together duet of American Boy by Estelle and Kanye West. It was a 7 average, Matt and Dan then revealed it was a common car karaoke song for them, surprising no one as their performance was better than expected. 

Aaron was forced up next. Having known what his song would be if he was forced to sing, he didn’t take long at the computer for selection. It was Royals by Lorde, which may have seemed like a bit of an odd pick to the others, but Katelyn chose it for him. The group could tell that he was glad he had waited, making sure to be drunk enough to get through the song without too much embarrassment. He was successful, and while he looked incredibly uncomfortable, he had one of the better voices that he the foxes had heard so far, second to only Renee. He scored a 6 average (Andrew provided no score, not wanting to give him a 0 but not ready to pay him a compliment), but the team claimed he could have gotten higher had he put some effort in. Dan went again on her own after him, singing Lady Marmalade from Moulin Rouge. The only performance yet to rival Nicky’s in theatricality, she scored a 7 because she was a far better singer, though still average in the grand scheme of things. 

At this point in the night, the remaining three had become fairly comfortable on the couch, yet to move. However, they could feel their turns approaching. At this thought and the end of Dan’s performance, Kevin downed the rest of his drink. He figured that he’d be next up, as Neil was absorbed in talking to Andrew, who wasn’t speaking but listening attentively, quietly. His competitive nature kicked in around halfway through, and while he was fully aware of the fact that he was a shit singer, it seemed that picking a good song, even if it was a bit embarrassing, could win you extra points from many of the judges. So when Dan’s scores went up and everyone looked at him expectantly, he stood, feigning confidence, and made his way over to the computer to key in his song choice. Once he located it, he hesitated. It would be a bit embarrassing and he’d have to drop it down an octave, but fuck it. It would be embarrassing anyways. Almost every member of the team had called him a primadonna before, he might as well embrace it, He selected the song and moved to the front of the room, microphone in hand.

The tension created by his nerves was palpable, and he shot Allison a dirty look when she pulled out her phone to record. At this point, everyone sans Neil and Andrew were drunk as shit, but he seemingly had even their full attention. The song began and he sang the opening line. 

Primadonna Girl, yeah...  
The foxes exploded into a fit of screams and laughter, immediately recognizing the song as Primadonna Girl by MARIANA. At their approval, Kevin immediately loosened up a bit.

All I ever wanted was the world  
I can't help that I need it all  
The primadonna life, the rise and fall  
You say that I'm kinda difficult  
But it's always someone else's fault  
Got you wrapped around my finger, babe  
You can count on me to misbehave  
Primadonna girl

By now, Kevin is fucking sloshed, drunk on liquor and laughter and he’s giggling through the lyrics. The team had seen him happy before, especially as they’d all grown closer, but never like this. He continued through the rest of the song and to the bridge, where the team joined in.

Going up, going down, down, down  
(Yeah) Anything for the crown, crown, crown  
The queen of Exy was grinning uncontrollably as he finished the song. He took a bow and threw himself back down onto the couch, awaiting his scores. “Bro, you can’t sing for shit but that song choice was great.” Matt chuckled as he wrote down his score. “Stick to exy.” Neil commented and Andrew nodded. Kevin couldn’t be bothered to care. He was having way too much fun. After little deliberation, his scores were raised. He received 7′s from Dan, Matt and Renee, a 6 from Allison, 5′s from Neil and Aaron, and Andrew didn’t care to score, more concerned with tucking his emotions away (Alcohol amplified or not) before Neil’s performance. Once the whiteboards went down, Neil sat up from Andrew. The redhead hadn’t started listening to music for the sake of enjoyment until recently, so he knew it would take him a minute to choose a song. He scrolled through the list until he found something he recognized and liked. There was a glint of mischief behind his eyes, and Neil could tell it didn’t go unnoticed by Andrew. 

He maintained eye contact with his blonde boyfriend as he began to sing the opening lines to a Troye Sivan song off of Blue Neighborhood, for him. Andrew wants to look away, Neil can almost feel how hard his heart is beating from across the room. He figured a small blush was probably spreading across the back of Andrew’s neck, but he was keeping a straight face. 

We are runnin' so fast  
And we never look back  
And whatever I lack, you make up  
We make a really good team  
And not everyone sees  
We got this crazy chemistry  
Between us  
At first, the rest of the team was freaking out over the fact that Neil’s voice sounded as though it was descended from somewhere holy. He had opened up to them eventually, but it still seemed he had a few secrets. However, they quickly put the pieces together and began internally freaking out about something else. Seeing the intense and unbreakable eye contact between the Foxes most controversial couple and hearing the song’s lyrics, Allison and Nicky almost made a comment, but Renee and Dan respectively shut them up. It didn’t matter to Andrew and Neil, who were only focused on each other. He moved through the rest of the song like this, watching Andrew grip the arm of the couch tighter and tighter as he progressed into the final chorus. Andrew muttered something intelligible under his breath that only Neil seemed to understand. Whatever it was, it made him smile.

You don't have to say I love you to say I love you  
Forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons  
We've been making shades of purple out of red and blue  
Sickeningly sweet like honey, don't need money  
All I need is you  
All I need is you, you  
After Neil was finished, the first to speak was Allison. She drunkenly slurred, “Fucking shit Neil...of course you can sing too.” For Neil, there was no score deliberation, only questions about where he learned to sing that he couldn’t answer. The only singing experience that Neil has was from when he was younger, singing in the car or a motel room in a nameless city until his Mom told him to shut up. But he was glad to know that somewhere, it was appreciated. Andrew and Aaron didn’t score him, Aaron’s board didn’t even go up and Andrew’s said “fuck you, junkie.” The rest scored him 9′s and 10′s, the 9′s (Nicky, and Allison) Claiming that he could have used a bit more showmanship. 

Andrew rose from his spot on the couch, walking over to Neil, who hands him the microphone. As Neil walks by, Andrew whispers, “523%” in his ear. He walked up to the computer with the microphone and quickly selects his song. Unlike everyone else, he makes no attempt to move front and center, instead, standing off to the side, leaning against the table the computer was resting on. The opening of the song Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls plays through the speakers and Andrew doesn’t turn once to check the lyrics as he begins to sing.

And I'd give up forever to touch you  
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
And I don't want to go home right now  
His voice is scratchy but in tune giving it the exact qualities it needed to match the lead singer’s. He wasn’t sure he could replicate it, but his rustiness was assisting him now. Neil was mesmerized, unable to take his eyes off Andrew, who had yet to make eye contact with him. The other foxes watched on, listening to the lyrics, their meaning not lost on them. Andrew moved through the first chorus easily, impressing the audience. Andrew was talented, but not one of them would have thought that it extended to music and that he would share this with them. The foxes weren’t certain he knew he was good himself. 

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming  
Or the moment of truth in your lies  
When everything feels like the movies  
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive  
Now he was looking at Neil, and he couldn’t look away. He had never been one to listen to or talk about music out loud, but as much as he’d like to deny it, the song reminded him of Neil and of him, especially there. He didn’t make himself look away as the second chorus approached. It didn’t matter. Most of his teammates were so drunk that they would remember it tomorrow. 

And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am  
When the song turned instrumental, he looked away. No one but Neil had ever seen his eyes quite like this. The rest of his face may have been as flat as every, but the way he looked at Neil gave him away. The foxes may not always understand their relationship, but they could see clear as day that to them, it was nearly everything. Andrew finished the song up. No one really knew what to say, not wanting to embarrass them or set Andrew off. Neil did them all a favor and spoke up.

“Wanted to show me up, yeah?” He said with a shit eating grin. Andrew flipped him off and rolled his eyes as he sat back down with Neil on the couch. “524% Josten.” The judges began their scoring and he came up with identical scores to Neil. 

“I’m sorry I don’t care how good of singers they were, I refuse to give a ten to someone with no showmanship!” Nicky argued with Dan. “I’d get it if they were flat, but there was CLEARLY passion! Not everything is about theatricality!” She exclaimed, incredulous. Neil and Andrew looked around the room to see Kevin practically asleep on the couch next to them, cradling a bottle of vodka. Allison and Renee were sharing an armchair, dozing off while listening to the ridiculous argument. Aaron was sitting on the ground texting Katelyn, his and Nicky’s chairs long abandoned and not far behind the girls in terms of drowsiness. After the argument reached a stalemate, Nicky and Dan settled down, falling into slumber. Andrew and Neil weren’t far behind them.

The next morning, Wymack sat in the locker room, waiting for his team to arrive. When not even Kevin showed up for morning practice, he decided to check up on them in the girls’ room, remembering Dan mentioning a karaoke night earlier in the week. He drove to the fox tower in silence, climbing the flights of stairs to reach the room. When he arrived, he knocked, but no one responded. Testing the handle, when he found the door to be unlocked, Wymack opened it slowly to find his entire team sleeping on the furniture and floor of the dorm in various states of dishevelment. With a small smile on his face, he pulled out his phone, silenced it, and snapped a picture to put on their photograph wall and send to Betsy and Abby. He looked at it fondly, seeing Dan sitting in Matt’s lap as they slept in their chair and Renee and Allison curled up against one another in theirs. Aaron and Nicky were sprawled out on the floor, sleeping peacefully while Kevin was cuddling his bottle of vodka and Andrew and Neil were cuddling each other on the couch. He walked over to Kevin, stepping over Nicky to grab the bottle that was slipping from his hands and place it on the table. With that, he turned, leaving the room and closing the door silently behind him. While he wasn’t happy to see that they had missed morning practice, he was glad that they were finally starting to accept each other as more than just a found family, but as friends as well.


End file.
